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“British royalty,” Gina clarified. “He’s thirty-fourth in line for the British throne. I’ve spent the last of my trust fund on looking like everything he wanted in a wife. Then what happens? His mother finds him a nice British wife with blue blood.”
Now, this does sound like the plot of a Regency novel.
You better keep that tidbit to yourself.
Agreed.
What do you know? Her inner snark actually agreed with her. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I need more money.”
Of course she did. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“You don’t understand. I need it now. Today. Like, yesterday.” There was a strain in her voice.
“Gina, what’s going on?”
“Don’t give me that look. You have no idea what I’ve been through. I wasn’t as lucky as you to land myself a millionaire.”
She wasn’t even going to go into that. “How much do you need?”
“A hundred thousand.”
“What?!” She didn’t know what amazed her more; the casual way Gina summed the amount or, well, the amount itself.
“Don’t pretend like that’s a lot. It’s pocket change to a man like Hector.”
“Yeah, to him, maybe, but you’remysister. I’m not going to ask him for a hundred thousand dollars, so you can buy a new wardrobe.” Sometimes her sister even baffled her.
“He’ll give it to you. Youwillmake him give it to you, right? Please?”
There it was again, that desperate look in her sister’s eyes. A look that made her stomach ache. “Gina. Tell me you just want to buy new clothes, and it’s not for something else.”
“Of course it’s for clothes, what else?” Gina sneered, her eyes darting into the dark night. “And maybe for a few hotel arrangements here and there. It’s just that I needed some money, stat, and after the last time, when you couldn’t give it to me fast enough, I had to borrow from some people.”
An icy feeling seeped into her stomach. “What kind of people?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just get me the money.”
“What kind of people, Gina?”
When a man emerged from the shadows, her question was answered.
“Gina Rossi.” The guy spat out her name, rounding up on her. Underneath the fluorescent light bulb, his bald head almost glowed. “You gonna pay me now, pretty butterfly?”
Her sister stared at him, looking frozen. “I… I don’t have the money.” Her eyes went to Mary. “But her husband does.”
Mary’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe Gina threw Hector under the bus like that.
“That true, dollface?” The guy came up to her, his cigarette scent wafting over her. “You got a man who can pay for you?”
“I…”
She tried to step back and bumped into a chest.
“Doesn’t matter,” the second guy from behind her said. “You’re gonna pay in flesh or blood, sweetheart. Either way, you’re going to pay.”
“Hector Diaz.” Gina practically shouted the name. “He’s my brother-in-law. He has his own security firm. Just call him, and he will pay you. Please, just don’t hurt us. If you touch his wife, he isn’t going to be happy.”